NS-2832 - Amending Chapter 10, Article XII of Santa Ana Municipal Code Pertaining to Proximity of Registered Sex Offenders to Children's Facilities

Home Browse Search

referred to as "out -of- State" arrests). Data on arrests came from State RAP sheets and FBI RAP sheets. RAP sheets (Records of Arrest and Prose- cution) are law enforcement records intended to document a person's entire adult criminal history, including every arrest, prosecution and adjudication for a felony or serious misdemeanor offense. Arrests, prosecutions and adjudications for minor traffic offenses, public drunkenness, and other petty crimes are not as fully recorded as those for serious crimes. The "percent rearrested" is calculated by dividing the number rearrested by the number released from prison in 1994. All measures of recidivism based on criminal records are subject to two types of errors. Type 1 errors arise when the arrest or the conviction in the released prisoner's record is for a crime that person did not commit. Type 2 errors arise when the released prisoner commits a crime but he is not arrested for it, or, even if he is, the arrest does not result in his conviction. Some amount of type 1 and type 2 error is inevitable, however recidivism is measured. But that does not mean that all recidivism measures are equally suitable, no matter the purpose they are intended to serve. The main purpose of this recidivism study was to document the percentage of sex offenders who continued their involve- ment in various types of crime after their release from prison in 1994. The more suitable measure for that is the one with the fewest type 2 errors: the one, in other words, less prone to saying someone is not committing crimes when he actually is. Between rearrest and reconviction as the recidi- vism measure, the one less likely to make that type of error is rearrest. One reason is that the rigorous standard used to convict someone — "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" — makes it certain that guilty persons will sometimes go free. Another reason is record keeping: the justice system does better at recording arrests than convictions in RAP sheets. For such reasons, this study uses rearrest more often than reconviction as the measure of recidivism. Rearrest forms a conservative meas- ure of reoffending because many crimes do not result in arrest. Not all types of crime are alike in this regard. Crimes committed in nonpublic places (such as in the victim's home) by one family member against another (such as by the husband against his wife, or by the father against his own child) are a type that is less likely than many other types to be reported to police and, consequently, less likely to result in arrest. Sex crimes, particularly those against children, are a specific example of this type. While some sex offenders in this study probably com- mitted a new sex crime after their release and were not arrested or con- victed, the study cannot say how many. As mentioned above, one reason why sex offenders are not arrested is that no one calls the police. Results from the National Crime Victimization Survey indicate that the offenses of rape /sexual assault are the least likely crimes to be reported to the police. (See Reporting Crime to the Police, 1993 -2000, March 2003, <http: / /www. ojp. usdoj /bjs /abstract/rcp00.htm >.) Reconviction Except where stated otherwise, this recidivism measure pertains to State and Federal convic- tions in any State (not just convictions in the State that released them) in the three years following release. Informa- tion on convictions came from State and FBI RAP sheets. RAP sheets are intended to document every conviction for a felony or serious misdemeanor, but not every conviction for a minor offense. "Percent reconvicted" is calcu- lated by dividing the number recon- victed by the number released from prison in 1994. (It is not calculated by dividing the number reconvicted by the number rearrested.) 6 Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994 Return to prison Two recidivism measures are returned to prison — with a new sentence with or without a new sentence. Recidivism defined as Returned to prison with a new sentence pertains exclusively to sex offenders who, within 3 years following release, were recon- victed for any new crime in any State following their release and received a new prison sentence for the new crime. Recidivism defined as Returned to prison with or without a new sentence includes resentenced offenders plus any who were returned to prison within 3 years because they had violated a technical condition of their release. Technical violations include things such as failing a drug test, missing an appointment with their parole officer, or being arrested for a new crime. Offend- ers returning to prison for such viola- tions are sometimes referred to as "technical violators." Prisons should not be confused with jails. A prison is a State or Federal correctional facility reserved for convicted persons with relatively long sentences (generally over a year). A jail is a local correctional facility for convicted persons with short sentences or for persons awaiting trial. Returns to prison refer to any prison, not neces- sarily the same prison that released the offender in 1994. The "percent returned to prison with a new sentence" is calculated by dividing the number returned to prison with a new sentence by the number released from prison in 1994. The "percent returned to prison with or without a new sentence " is calculated by dividing the number returned to prison with or without a new sentence by the number released from prison in 1994. Data on returns with a new sentence are based on State and FBI RAP sheets. Data on returns with or without a new sentence are based on State and FBI RAP sheets plus prison records.